Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Majority of civic bodies streamline accounts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Local Administration Department bid to streamline the financial management of civic bodies has yielded commendable results as all the five corporations, 53 municipalities and 981 out of the 999 grama panchayats have updated their accounts of the past 20 years and paved the way for timely auditing.

The decision to instil financial discipline has drawn the flak of a section of the civic chiefs as the Department had taken a firm stance that Plan funds will not be allocated to those who fail to update the accounts within the deadline. The delay in preparing the accounts had derailed auditing and this had given way to large-scale corruption, and misappropriation of funds. Department sources told The Hinduthat yawning gaps had been detected in tax collection. As many as 18 grama panchayats in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Malappuram and Palakkad districts have not yet finalised the accounts. Stringent action will be taken against those who fail to honour the deadline and fall in line with the directive, sources said.

Preparation of the Demand-Collection-Balance (DCB) statement is the primary document for auditing the accounts. The accounts of a number of civic bodies remained unaudited as they had not furnished the statement during the past two decades. The DCB statement is the key for assessing the financial health of an LSGI as it gives a clear idea about the revenue and expenditure sources and also the latest financial position. Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi corporations as well as a number of grama panchayats and municipalities had not taken any effort to prepare the statement and hence the auditing of accounts too. Many had not even prepared the annual financial statement during the past 20 years, sources said.

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